Superheroes Land in Midwest - Again; 'Superman vs Batman' to Film in Detroit

Fan art for 'Superman vs Batman,' based on
a Warner Bros./DC Entertainment design

By now you’ve heard
the news: the much-anticipated sequel to Man of Steel, tentatively titled Superman vs Batman, will shoot on location in Detroit, Mich., and
other areas of Michigan in 2014.

That’s big news for
fans of filmmaking in the Midwest and further proof that shooting in the
Midwest is becoming even more viable and preferred.

For those taking
count, that’s four big superhero blockbusters filmed (or about to be filmed) in
the Midwest in the last few years. Pittsburgh played Gotham City in The Dark Knight Rises, Cleveland substituted for New York City in the
mega-hit Marvel’s
The Avengers, and work
recently wrapped on Captain
America 2: The Winter Soldier
in Cleveland, as well. This time, the city portrays Washington, D.C.

Speculation is that
Detroit will likely substitute for Gotham City. And with a first quarter 2014
shoot, that could mean a Gotham City during wintertime.

DC Entertainment
and Warner Bros. Pictures will benefit from state tax incentives, and the film
will bring with it production jobs for cast and crew and notoriety for the
city.

“This project will
further strengthen the reputation of Michigan and metro Detroit as a premier
film destination,” said Margaret O’Riley, director of the Michigan Film Office, in a
statement to the press. “We look forward to the spotlight shining on our
incredibly talented workforce and the businesses that support our film industry
here in Michigan.”

Superman vs
Batman was awarded an incentive of
$35 million on $131 million of projected in-state expenditures. The production
is expected to hire 406 Michigan workers, with a full time equivalent of 426
jobs, plus an additional 6,000 man/days of extra work. The production
anticipates using approximately 500 local Michigan vendors during the course of
production and spending $5.1 million on local hotels, as well as an additional
$3.5 million in out-of-town cast and crew per diem payments that will be spent
in the local economy but which fall outside of the incentive program.

Production on the new film is expected to begin in metro Detroit and
throughout Michigan sometime in the first quarter of 2014. Snyder is co-writing
the story with David S. Goyer, who is writing the screenplay. Charles Roven and
Deborah Snyder are producing the film, which will star Henry Cavill, Ben
Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne and Diane Lane.

"Detroit
is a great example of a quintessential American city, and I know it will make
the perfect backdrop for our movie," stated filmmaker Zack Snyder. "Detroit and
the entire state of Michigan have been fantastic collaborators, and we are
looking forward to working together on this film."

Popular posts from this blog

Tina Fey is taking a serious turn, producing 67 Shots, a film about the 1970 Kent State shootings. The movie applied for the Ohio Film Tax Incentive earlier this year and plans to film in and around KSU sometime in 2018.

67 Shots focuses on events that led up to the shooting deaths of four students by Ohio National Guardsmen. The title comes from the numbers of shots those guardsmen fired into the unarmed crowd of protestors. Fey is producing alongside Jeff Richmond, her husband and a Kent State alum. Jay Roach, best known for the Austin Powers and Meet the Fockers franchises, will helm the project. Roach is making more socially and politically aware films at this stage in his career, including Trumbo and Game Change. The film is based on the book 67 Shots: Kent State and the End of American Innocence and is adapted by award-winning playwright Stephen Belber. Fey and Richmond’s production company, Little Stranger, will join Shivani Rawat’s ShivHans Pictures and Michelle Graham’s Everyman…

Emily Kinney, perhaps best known for her role as Beth Greene on AMC’s The Walking Dead, is joining Anhedonia, the new indie feature from Cleveland’s Eric Swinderman and Carmen DeFranco.

Kinney got her start on stage, with roles in Spring Awakening and August: Osage County, before transitioning to guest roles on television and a star turn as Emily on Showtime’s The Big C.

Her breakout role would come as Beth Greene, Maggie Greene’s little sister, on The Walking Dead. Kinney became a fan favorite during a series of dramatic episodes in the series’ fourth season when Kinney’s Greene bonded with fellow survivor Daryl Dixon, played by Norman Reedus.Anhedonia co-stars Breckin Meyer and Giselle Eisenberg.

"To have the opportunity to work with such an amazing actress like Emily is beyond exciting,” says Swinderman. “It's also very exciting for the city and people of northeast Ohio to have three huge TV stars coming to town to work on such a wonderful project.”Anhedonia tells the tal…

Abby Elliott and Breckin Meyer are coming to Cleveland. They are set to star in Anhedonia, the new feature from 1031 Films’ Eric Swinderman and Carmen DeFranco. Filming begins May 1 at locations around Northeast Ohio.